he dock before he
commenced to give his evidence.

He told the court a remarkable story. He declared that Birchill had told
him on the 16th of August that he had a job on at Riversbrook, and had
asked him to join him in it. When Birchill explained the details witness
declined to have a hand in it. He did not like these put-up jobs.

Mr. Lethbridge interposed to explain to any particularly unsophisticated
jurymen that "a put-up job" meant a burglary that had been arranged with
the connivance of a servant in the house to be broken into.

Kemp declared that the reason he had declined to have anything to do with
the project to burgle Riversbrook was that he felt sure Hill would squeak
if the police threatened him when they came to investigate the burglary.
He happened to be at Hampstead on the evening of the 18th of August and
he took a walk along Tanton Gardens to have another look at the place
which Birchill was to break into. It had occurred to him that things
might not be square, and that Hill might have laid a trap for Birchill.
That was about 9.30 p.m. He was just able to catch a glimpse of the house
through the plantation in front of it. The mansion appeared all in
darkness, but while he looked he was surprised to see a light appear in
the upper portion of the house which was visible from the road. He went
through the carriage gates with the intention of getting a closer view of
the house. As he walked along he heard a quick footstep on the gravel
walk behind him, and he slipped into the plantation. Looking out from
behind a tree he could discern the figure of a man walking quickly
towards the house. As he drew near him the man paused, struck a match and
looked at his watch, and he saw that it was Mr. Holymead. Witness's
suspicions in regard to a trap having been laid for Birchill were
strengthened, and he decided to ascertain what was in the wind. He crept
through the plantation to the edge of the garden in front of the house.
From there he could hear voices in a room upstairs. He tried to make out
what was being said, but he was too far away for that. In about half an
hour the voices stopped, and a minute later a man came out of the house
and walked down the path through the garden, and entered the carriage
drive close to where witness was concealed in the plantation. As he
passed him witness saw that it was Mr. Holymead.

About five minutes afterwards the window upstairs in the room where the
voices had come fr